Rome Introduces Snack-Free Zones

Tourists face fines for eating near monuments

In a move that Italian papers have dubbed, “War on the Sandwich,” the mayor of Rome, Gianni Allemanno, has declared it illegal to snack on or around the city’s many historical monuments. Pedestrians are allowed to walk and eat but if they stop and sit near the Piazza Navona fountain, the Colosseum, or the Pantheon with their food, they could face a fine of up to $650. The measure is targeted primarily at tourists who frequent the city in large numbers every year. An Italian police officer interviewed by NBC News had this to say: “I once caught a tourist chopping a watermelon in the fountain at Piazza Navona. Now we have a way to stop them.”